At-Large Board Member

Katherine Johnson

I have always felt committed to elevating the profession and the professionals in the childcare field through the years as I have worked in multiple states, in every teaching role in centers from floater to curriculum support, community of practice facilitation and a variety of professional support roles outside of centers. The teachers I have encountered in my career have had one thing in common: the desire to do what is best for the children, families, and communities they serve. However, by and large, they have felt like they do not have the power to do more to support the profession and advocate for themselves and the field. I have learned that each time I talk about what I do for a living I share my passion for the field, what we need as professionals, the impact we have, and how we can be better supported in providing for the future of the world. Despite the long hours, insufficient pay, incalculable stress, and the lack of being seen as a professional worthy of respect, I have continued to stay, focusing more on the impact I can make for myself and for the professionals to follow in my footsteps. I can imagine no greater purpose for my career than continuing to make the path for those to come easier, more rewarding professionally, and more satisfying personally, and this opportunity supplies more avenues for impact. By bringing attention to the practice of early childhood education and standardizing titles, expectations, skills, and knowledge, the profession can be elevated. I can speak to the realities of being an Infant Teacher, a role that not many of the advocates ever experienced full time. I can share the realities I have seen in the classrooms I have observed.  I can share from the voices of the many directors I work with in my local communities of practice. I can also speak from the professional development side of the field, supporting teachers where they are, leading the way to improved practices. I feel I would represent the field well.